LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA, 

GIFT    OF 

.......  ,  ......... 

Class  * 


SKETCHES 

<gf  the 

Early  History  §f 
Amherst   College 

prepared  by 

President  Heman  Humphrey,  D.  D. 

At  the  Request  of  the  Trustees 


OF 


SKETCHES    OF   THE   EARLY  HISTORY    OF 
AMHERST   COLLEGE 

[An  undated  manuscript  in  the  handwriting  of  President 
Heman  Humphrey,  D.  D.  It  has  never  before  been  printed 
but  was  frequently  quoted  from  by  Professor  W.  S.  Tyler 
in  his  "  History  of  Amherst  College.'1  The  original  text 
appears  here  without  change.  The  manuscript  is  the 
property  of  Amherst  College  Library.  It  is  published  and 
distributed  by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Frank  W.  Stearns,  of  the 
class  of  1878.'] 

The  law  of  growth  and  expansion  is  necessarily  progressive, 
whether  in  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms  or  in  human  insti- 
tutions. Nothing  springs  up  to  full  perfection  at  once.  Every- 
thing requires  more  or  less  time  to  grow  and  ripen. 

Thus  in  the  vegetable  kingdom  there  is  "first  the  blade, 
then  the  ear,  and  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear. ' '  First  the 
acorn,  then  the  leaf,  and  by  the  slow  process  of  annual  accre- 
tions the  giant  oak,  rooted  and  braced  by  the  mountain  storms 
of  a  hundred  winters. 

Thus  the  lion,  king  of  the  forest,  was  once  a  little  cub,  in- 
capable of  self  defence,  much  less  of  sustaining  the  dynastic  rule. 

Thus  all  the  world-wide  conquerors  who  have  shaken  the 
earth  under  the  iron  tread  of  their  mighty  legions  were  once 
helpless  babes  in  their  mother's  arms. 

So  with  tribes,  states  and  nations.  They  spring  from  small 
beginnings  and  pass  through  all  the  stages  of  growth,  strength 
and  renown,  till  at  the  end  of  many  centuries  it  may  be,  "  the 
little  one  becomes  a  thousand  and  the  small  one  a  strong  nation." 

Thus  it  is  with  all  the  institutions  which  in  process  of  time 
take  root,  expand  and  become  the  strength  and  glory  of  the 
most  enlightened  states  and  kingdoms.  They  grow  like  the 


cedars  of  Lebanon.  This  great  nation,  clasping  the  continent 
from  the  rising  to  the  setting  sun,  was  born  in  the  May  Flower  and 
rocked  in  its  infancy  upon  the  rocky  shore  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

And  what  is  true  of  nations  is  true  of  the  institutions  which 
constitute  their  highest  advancement,  glory,  security  and 
strength.  This  proposition  admits  of  great  enlargement  by  per- 
tinent examples  selected  from  the  history  of  all  our  most  flour- 
ishing humane  and  benevolent  institutions  for  the  destitute,  for 
the  insane,  for  the  deaf,  for  the  blind,  for  the  Christian  enlight- 
enment of  our  own  people,  and  for  sending  the  bread  of  life  to 
famishing  millions  in  other  lands. 

But  this  is  not  the  time  nor  the  place.  We  have  no  more 
striking  examples  of  infancy,  growth,  prosperity  and  public 
usefulness  than  the  New  England  colleges,  though  now  the 
observatories  and  light  house  of  our  northern  skies,  they  all 
sprung  from  small  beginnings. 

Thus  Harvard,  the  oldest,  and  now  the  richest  of  them  all, 
was  founded  and  partly  sustained  for  several  years  by  voluntary 
rations  in  corn  and  wheat  and  other  commodities  out  of  the 
common  granary  in  Boston,  near  where  Park  street  church  now 
stands. 

Yale  College,  now  so  large  and  prosperous,  sprung  from  the 
gift  of  a  few  books  presented  at  a  meeting  of  ministers  in  the 
town  of  Saybrook  from  their  own  scanty  libraries.  This  was 
all  they  had  to  begin  with,  and  lo,  "  what  hath  God  wrought !" 

But  I  hasten  to  the  planting  and  early  history  of  Amherst 
College.  In  no  case,  I  believe,  has  the  guiding  hand  of  God 
been  more  visible  than  in  the  several  steps  which  led  to  it,  nur- 
tured it  in  its  feeble  infancy,  and  in  due  time  brought  it  into  the 
sisterhood  of  the  New  England  colleges.  When  the  set  time 
had  come  He  raised  up  just  the  men  that  were  wanted  to  under- 
take the  all  but  hopeless  enterprise.  But  there  were  several 
years  of  preparatory  work  for  them  to  do  before  the  vision  of 
establishing  a  college  with  full  powers  and  franchises  gladdened 
their  hearts  and  encouraged  them  to  go  forward. 

They  felt  the  want  of  an  Academy  in  Amherst  for  the  edu- 
cation of  their  own  children  and  others  who  might  wish  to  come 


and  enjoy  its  privileges.  Accordingly  in  the  month  of  July, 
1812,  a  subscription  was  opened  to  erect  a  suitable  edifice  for 
such  a  school.  With  the  avails  of  this  and  other  free-will  offer- 
ings the  building  soon  went  up,  and  in  due  time  was  opened 
with  highly  encouraging  prospects,  with  a  corps  of  competent 
teachers.  In  the  winter  of  1816  an  act  of  incorporation  was 
obtained.  The  trustees  named  in  the  act  were  David  Parsons, 
Nathan  Perkins,  Samuel  F.  Dickinson,  Hezekiah  W.  Strong, 
Rufus  Cowls,  Calvin  Merrill,  Noah  Webster,  John  Woodbridge, 
James  Taylor,  Nathaniel  Smith,  Josiah  Dwight,  Rufus  Graves, 
Winthrop  Burley,  Experience  Porter  and  Elijah  Gridley.  A 
notable  corporation  of  the  friends  of  education  in  Hampshire 
County.  Their  aims  were  high.  They  determined  to  nave  an 
Academy  of  the  very  first  class  in  the  State.  To  this  end  on 
the  8th  of  Nov.,  1817,  they  took  a  step  in  advance  of  all  their 
competitors.  In  view  of  the  demand  for  educated  ministers  be- 
yond the  ordinary  supply  without  aid,  a  project  was  presented 
by  Rufus  Graves,  Esq.,  and  adopted,  for  encouraging  the  use- 
fulness of  the  Academy  by  raising  a  fund  for  the  gratuitous  edu- 
cation of  pious  young  men.  In  the  preamble  and  resolves  which 
follow  we  have  the  nucleus  and  outline  of  the  charitable  founda- 
tion which  ultimately  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  Amherst 
College.  (See  Webster's  manuscript  book,  pages  3d,  4th  and 
5th)  in  which  they  say,  "  encouraged  by  the  past  and  animated 
by  the  prospects  of  the  future,  humbly  and  devoutly  relying  on 
the  Divine  assistance  in  all  our  endeavors  to  promote  the  cause 
of  truth  and  train  up  the  rising  generation  in  science  and  virtue, 
we  do  hereby  resolve  as  an  important  object  of  this  board  to 
establish  in  this  institution  a  professorship  of  languages  with  a 
permanent  salary  equal  to  the  importance  and  dignity  of  such 
an  office." 

To  this  end  a  Committee  was  raised  to  draw  up  a  constitu- 
tion and  system  of  by-laws  for  raising  and  managing  a  perma- 
nent fund  as  the  basis  of  a  classical  institution  for  the  education 
of  indigent  young  men  of  piety  and  talents  for  the  Christian 
ministry.  This  was  done  and  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Trustees 
at  their  meeting  on  the  18th  day  of  August,  1818.  This  plan 


failed.  The  committee  found  that  the  establishment  of  a  single 
professorship  for  the  purposes  mentioned  in  the  project  was  too 
limited  an  object  to  induce  men  to  subscribe.  To  engage  pub- 
lic patronage  it  was  found  necessary  to  form  a  plan  on  a  much 
broader  basis  to  accomplish  the  end  in  view.  Accordingly 
Rufus  Graves,  Esq.,  drew  up  the  constitution  of  the  charity 
fund  of  $50,000  and  the  Trustees  commissioned  him  to  circulate 
it  for  subscriptions,  in  which  laborious  service  he  spent  the 
greater  part  of  two  years.  (See  Webster  from  page  7  to  page 
25.)  Before  the  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Academy 
August  1818,  as  above  cited  had  been  apprised  of  the  con- 
templated design  of  the  Trustees  of  Williams  College  to  remove 
that  Institution  to  some  town  in  one  of  the  counties  which  for- 
merly constituted  the  old  county  of  Hampshire,  a  committee  of 
the  Trustees  of  that  college  had  visited  Amherst  for  the  purpose 
of  inquiring  into  the  situation  and  advantages  of  the  town  for 
being  the  seat  of  that  college  should  it  be  removed.  Subse- 
quently, in  the  month  of  September,  two  gentlemen,  delegated 
for  the  purpose,  waited  upon  the  trustees  of  Williams  College 
and  presented  them  with  a  copy  of  the  Constitution  for  a  Charity 
Fund.  The  papers  were  returned  without  any  answer. 

This  was  considered  by  the  Trustees  of  Amherst  Academy 
as  a  declining  to  accede  to  any  proposal  for  uniting  that  college 
with  the  proposed  Institution  in  Amherst.  Whereupon  it  was 
resolved  at  a  meeting  on  the  10th  day  of  September  that  in  the 
opinion  of  this  Board  it  is  expedient  to  invite  a  convention  of 
clergy  and  laity  to  approve  and  patronize  a  Charitable  literary 
Institution  contemplated  by  this  Board  for  the  education  of 
pious  indigent  young  men  for  the  gospel  ministry,  and  that  the 
convention  be  composed  of  the  Congregational  and  Presbyterian 
cle-gy  of  the  several  parishes  in  the  counties  of  Hampshire, 
Franklin  and  Hamden,  and  the  western  section  of  the  county  of 
Worcester,  with  their  delegates,  together  with  one  delegate  from 
each  vacant  parish,  and  the  subscribers  to  the  Fund.  An  invita- 
tion was  accordingly  drawn  up  and  circulated  with  that  intent. 
(Here  follows  the  circular.  Webster,  page  27,  28,  29.) 

On  the  29th  of  Sep.    1818  the  convention  assembled   and 


was  formed  in  the  church  in  the  west  parish  of  Amherst.  (Here 
follow  the  names  of  the  ministers  and  delegates  to  the  number 
of  71,  among  whom  were  Dr.  Lyman  of  Hatfield,  President  of 
the  convention,  Dr.  David  Parsons,  Rev.  Dan.  Huntington,  Rev. 
Theophilus  Packard,  Rev.  Dr.  Cooley,  Rev.  J.  Smith,  (Fiske?) 
Rev.  T.  Snell,  Col.  Henry  Dwight,  Col.  Joseph  Billings,  Dr. 
William  Hooker,  George  Grennell,  Esq  ,  and  Rodger  Leavitt, 
Esq. )  The  proposed  constitution  and  by-laws  for  the  proposed 
Institution  were  read  by  Noah  Webster,  Esq.  A  committee  of 
twelve  was  then  raised  to  take  the  subject  into  consideration  and 
make  reports.  (Here  follow  the  names  of  the  committee.) 
The  Committee  reported  at  length  in  favor  of  the  establishment 
of  such  an  Institution,  leaving  open  a  door  for  a  union  with  Wil- 
liams college  upon  fair  and  honorable  principles,  should  the 
guardians  of  that  institution  deem  it  expedient  to  remove  and 
form  the  connection.  They  say  in  their  report  that  an  Institu- 
tion of  this  description,  designed  to  diffuse  its  blessings  with  in- 
creasing influence  to  the  end  of  time,  should  be  judiciously 
located  cannot  be  reasonably  questioned,  nor  that  Hampshire 
county  presents  one  of  the  most  eligible  places  for  the  purpose 
in  the  United  States. 

Having  compared  a  number  of  pleasant  towns  in  this  vicinity 
in  relation  to  advantages  and  disadvantages  they  are  of  opinion 

First — That  an  Institution  might  flourish  as  located  in  the 
Constitution,  and  at  the  same  time  are  convinced  that  it  might 
flourish  to  a  greater  extent  were  it  to  have  the  advantage  of  that 
union  which  would  result  from  its  location  by  a  disinterested 
Committee  appointed  by  a  Convention. 

Second  —In  this  general  view  of  the  subject  the  Committee 
cordially  approve  of  the  object  of  a  religious,  and  classical  Insti- 
tution on  a  charitable  foundation  in  the  town  of  Amherst,  and 
recommend  to  the  Convention  to  give  it  their  united  and  individ- 
ual patronage. 

Third — They  also  recommended  that  suitable  measures  be 
adopted  by  the  Trustees  of  Amherst  Academy  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  college  in  connection  with  the  charitable  Institution 
possessing  all  the  advantages  of  other  colleges  in  the  Common- 
wealth. 


They  also  recommended  that  such  preparations  and  arrange- 
ments be  made  as  will  accommodate  students  at  the  Institution 
as  soon  as  possible.  "With  these  resolutions  and  recom- 
mendations your  Committee  express  their  fervent  wish  that  the 
great  object  may  be  kept  in  distinct  view  in  this  body,  that 
there  may  be  union  and  harmony  of  feelings  and  deliberation 
and  that  it  will  please  our  God  and  Saviour  to  succeed  the 
endeavor  of  His  servants  and  under  the  contemplated  Institution 
a  rich  blessing  to  the  church  of  this  generation  and  to  the  most 
distant  posterity." — Joseph  Billings,  Secretary. 

After  a  full  discussion  the  report  was  approved  and  ac- 
cepted, with  the  following  amendments.  The  first  article  was 
rejected.  The  second  was  amended  by  inserting  "in  the  town 
of  Amherst  "  after  the  word  foundation.  The  third  by  inserting 
" The  Trustees  of  Amherst  Academy"  after  the  word  adopted. 
And  the  fourth  was  amended  as  above  recited,  and  then  the 
whole  report  was  adopted  by  a  large  majority  of  the  votes,  after 
which  the  convention  adjourned.  (See  Webster  35,  36,  37.) 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  October  26th,  1818,  a 
committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Williams  College  and  communicate  to  them  the 
result  of  the  late  convention  in  Amherst  and  make  suitable  state- 
ments and  explanations  respecting  the  same.  They  went  to 
Williamstown  and  presented  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  that  col- 
lege a  copy  of  the  proceedings  and  resolutions  of  the  convention^ 
with  such  verbal  representations  as  they  supposed  necessary. 

To  these  communications  no  answer  was  given.  But  at  this 
meeting  the  Board  of  Trustees  resolved  that  it  was  expedient  to 
remove  the  College  on  certain  conditions,  and  as  a  preliminary 
measure  they  appointed  the  Hon.  James  Kent,  Chancellor  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  the  Hon.  Nathaniel  Smith,  one  of  the 
Judges  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Connecticut,  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Payson,  of  Rindge,  New  Hampshire,  to  determine  the  place  to 
which  the  college  should  be  removed.  In  consequence  of  this 
action  the  Trustees  of  Amherst  Academy  at  their  annual  meet- 
ing, Nov.  17,  1818,  appointed  Noah  Webster,  Esq.,  the  Rev. 
John  Fisk,  the  Rev.  Edwards  Whipple,  the  Rev.  Joshua  Crosby 


and  Nathaniel  Smith,  Esq.,  to  attend  upon  the  Committee  just 
named  and  represent  to  them  the  claims  of  the  town  of  Amherst 
to  be  the  seat  of  the  College,  including  the  funds  procured^ by 
the  Trustees  for  a  Charitable  Institution,  the  recommendation  of 
the  Convention  in  Sep.  last,  and  all  the  facts  and  circumstances 
that  might  affect  the  decision  of  the  question.  On  account  of 
the  lateness  of  the  season  the  meeting  of  the  locating  committee 
was  deferred  till  the  next  spring.  To  prepare  for  that  meeting 
the  Committee  of  the  Academy  drew  up  a  long  and  labored 
paper  setting  forth  the  claims  of  Amherst  as  the  most  suitable 
location  for  the  college,  such  as  conveniences  of  situation,  salu- 
brity of  the  climate,  the  cheapness  of  living,  and  the  advantages 
for  literary  and  moral  improvement  in  this  and  future  ages. 
These  advantages  were  presented  at  great  length  and  with 
marked  ability  before  the  committee  of  location.  (See  Web- 
ster's manuscript,  pages  40  to  50,  signed  by  the  Committee.) 
The  locating  committee,  however,  were  unanimous  in  naming 
Northampton  as  the  most  suitable  place  for  the  Institution. 

Under  this  decision,  cutting  off  the  hope  and  expectation 
which  had  been  indulged  that  if  removed  at  all  Williams  College 
might  come  to  Amherst,  the  Trustees  at  a  meeting  on  the  18th 
of  Nov.  1818  appointed  a  large  committee  to  solicit  subscrip- 
tions to  make  up  the  Charity  Fund  which  had  been  already 
commenced,  and  also  funds  for  the  foundation  and  support  of  a 
college  to  be  connected  with  the  same.  But  in  consequence  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  corporation  of  Williams  College  in  resolv- 
ing to  remove  that  Institution  and  in  appointing  a  Committee  to 
locate  it  the  trustees  of  Amherst  Academy  suspended  further 
measures  until  the  event  of  an  application  of  Williams  College 
to  the  Legislature  for  authority  to  remove  should  be  known.  It 
is  added,  "  They  made  no  opposition  to  that  application  and 
took  no  measures  to  defeat  it."  So  far  as  appears  no  other 
action  was  taken  till  July,  1819,  when  a  committee  appointed  to 
examine  the  subscription  to  the  Charity  Fund  reported  that  the 
money  and  other  property  subscribed  amounted  at  a  fair  esti- 
mate  to  Fifty-one  thousand,  four  hundred  and  four  dollars. 
Previous  to  this,  on  the  23d  day  of  the  same  month,  the  Trus- 


8 

tees  of  Williams  College  published  an  address  to  the  public 
assigning  reasons  for  proposing  to  remove  that  Institution  and 
soliciting  donations  to  increase  the  funds  and  promote  its  pros- 
perity in  its  proposed  location  at  Northampton.  A  paragraph 
from  that  address  is  in  the  following  words  : 

"The  Trustees,  highly  approving  the  object  of  a  charitable 
Institution  at  Amherst  and  the  benevolence  which  has  influenced 
so  many  to  unite  in  contributing  to  the  very  important  object  of 
educating  poor  and  pious  young  men  for  the  ministry,  are  par- 
ticularly desirous  that  that  should  be  so  united  with  the  college 
at  Northampton  and  this  college  with  that,  that  contributions  to 
either  should  be  conducive  to  the  good  of  both,  and  so  form  an 
Institution  which  would  receive  the  united  patronage  of  all  the 
friends  of  literature,  science  and  religion.  A  copy  of  this  ad- 
dress was  sent  to  the  Trustees  of  Amherst  Academy  dated  Aug. 
18,  1819.  An  answer  was  returned  of  which  the  following  is 
the  substance  :  ' '  The  Trustees  of  Amherst  Academy  have  re- 
ceived your  letter  and  have  given  the  subject  of  it  their  delib- 
erate consideration.  In  our  opinion  a  union  between  the  college 
and  the  charitable  Institution  in  Amherst  would  be  conducive  to 
the  interests  specified  in  the  western  section  of  Massachusetts. 
The  constitution  of  the  Charity  Fund  opened  the  door  for  that 
union,  and  nothing  on  our  part,  we  believe,  has  been  wanting  to 
accomplish  the  object.  We  entertain  the  most  friendly  disposi- 
tion toward  Williams  College  and  shall  rejoice  in  its  prosperity, 
although  we  see  not  at  present  how  a  union  between  the  college 
and  a  charitable  Institution  can  be  effected.  Yet  if  a  plan 
could  be  devised  for  that  purpose  it  would  meet  our  most  cor- 
dial approbation. 

In  the  next  winter,  1819-20,  the  Trustees  of  Williams  Col- 
lege made  their  application  to  the  Legislature  for  an  act  author- 
izing them  to  remove  the  college  to  Northampton,  but  it  failed, 
whereupon  the  Trustees  of  Amherst  Academy  judged  that  the 
way  was  open  for  them  to  proceed  and  put  in  operation  the 
Charity  Fund  entrusted  to  their  care.  So  on  the  15th  of  March 
1820  they  resolved  that  this  Board  consider  it  their  duty  to  pro- 
ceed directly  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  the  Constitu- 


tion  for  the  classical  education  of  indigent  pious  young  men, 
and  the  financier  was  directed  to  proceed  with  as  little  delay  as 
possible  to  effect  a  settlement  with  subscribers  to  procure  notes 
and  obligations  for  the  whole  amount  of  the  subscriptions  from 
benevolent  individuals  and  also  to  solicit  further  subscriptions  in 
aid  of  this  great  charity,  and  for  erecting  the  necessary  buildings. 

At  the  next  meeting,  May  10,  1820,  it  was  resolved,  That 
great  and  combined  exertions  of  the  Christian  public  are  neces- 
sary to  give  due  effect  to  the  charitable  Institution.  The  Rev. 
Joshua  Crosby  with  others  were  appointed  agents  to  make  ap- 
plications for  additional  funds  and  for  contributions  to  aid  in 
erecting  suitable  buildings. 

The  Committee  proceeded  to  execute  the  trust  committed 
to  them,  secured  a  title  to  the  land,  marked  out  the  ground  for 
the  site  of  the  building  of  a  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  invited 
the  inhabitants  of  Amherst,  friendly  to  the  design,  to  contribute 
labor  and  materials,  with  provisions  for  the  workmen.  With 
this  request  the  inhabitants  of  Amherst  friendly  to  the  under- 
taking, and  a  few  from  Pelham  and  Leverett,  most  cheerfully 
complied.  The  stones  for  the  foundation  were  brought  chiefly 
from  Pelham  by  gratuitous  labor,  and  provisions  for  the  work- 
men were  furnished  by  voluntary  contributions.  At  two  o'clock 
P.  M.  on  the  9th  of  August,  1820,  the  Board  met  after  an  ad- 
journment and  voted,  That  the  Board  will  proceed  immediately 
to  lay  the  corner  stone  of  the  edifice,  which  was  done. 

LAYING  THE  CORNER  STONE 

The  corner  stone  of  the  first  college  edifice,  100  feet  long 
and  4  stories  high,  was  laid  by  Dr.  Parsons,  President  of  the 
Board,  in  presence  of  a  numerous  audience  on  the  9th  day  of 
August,  1820,  after  which  Mr.  Webster  delivered  the  following 
address.  See  p.  58,  Manuscript  Book. 

This  was  followed  by  an  exceedingly  eloquent  and  impres- 
sive discourse  in  the  church  by  Rev.  Daniel  A.  Clark,  entitled 
A  plea  for  a  dying  world,  which  was  published  along  with  the 
address  and  widely  circulated. 

Another  step  in  advance  was  the  appointment  of  a  commit- 


10 

tee  Sept.  7th,  1820,  to  correspond  with  the  American  Education 
Society  on  the  terms  upon  which  the  Board  might  co-operate 
with  that  society  in  the  education  of  their  beneficiaries. 

At  the  next  meeting,  Nov.  8th,  it  was  resolved  to  establish 
three  Professorships  in  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy — 
in  Rhetoric  and  in  the  Learned  Languages. 

The  next  step  was  to  erect  the  College  building.  The  labor! 
How  was  it  to  be  done  ?  Says  the  record  from  which  I  quote, 
"Notwithstanding  the  building  committee  had  no  funds,  not 
even  a  cent,  except  what  were  to  be  derived  from  gratuities  in 
labor  materials  and  provisions,  they  prosecuted  the  work  with 
untiring  diligence.  Repeatedly  during  the  progress  of  the  work 
their  means  were  exhausted  and  they  were  obliged  to  notify  the 
President  of  the  Board  that  without  aid  they  could  proceed  no 
further  !  Those  were  dark  days.  It  required  the  clear  eye  of 
faith  to  look  through  the  cloud.  It  sometimes  seemed  as  if  the 
enterprise  must  be  given  up  ;  but  help  gratuitously  came.  The 
work  went  on  and  so  rapidly  that  on  the  ninetieth  day  from  lay- 
ing the  corner  stone  the  roof  was  on  !  It  seemed  more  like 
magic  than  the  work  of  the  craftsmen.  But  only  a  few  weeks 
ago  the  timber  was  in  the  forest,  the  brick  in  the  clay,  and  the 
stone  in  the  quarry,  and  how  came  they  here,  fashioned  into  a 
solid  and  lofty  edifice  on  the  hill,  seen  from  15  (?)  towns, 
hailed  with  delight  by  some  and  scowled  upon  as  we  shall  see 
by  others,  as  boding  evil  rather  than  good  to  the  educational 
cause  in  Western  Massachusetts. 

The  building  was  completed  with  almost  equal  dispatch  for 
receiving  students,  and  on  the  8th  day  of  May,  1821,  Dr.  Moore 
was  unanimously  elected  President  of  the  "  Charity  Institution," 
as  it  was  then  called.  At  the  same  day,  "  the  Trustees  passed 
a  vote  prohibiting  the  students  from  drinking  ardent  spirits  or 
wine,  or  any  liquor  of  which  ardent  spirits  or  wine  should  be  the 
principal  ingredient,  at  any  inn,  tavern  or  shop,  or  to  keep 
ardent  spirits  or  wine  in  their  rooms  or  at  any  time  to  indulge  in 
them,  under  penalty  of  admonition  for  the  first  offense,  and  for 
the  second  admonition  or  expulsion  according  to  the  nature  and 
aggravation  of  the  offence." 


11 

This  was  a  remarkable  step,  quite  in  advance  of  the  times. 
It  was  several  years  before  the  formation  of  the  American  Tem- 
perance society  and  no  such  prohibition  I  believe  had  been 
thought  of  in  any  college  or  other  public  seminary.  I  am  sure 
it  was  wisdom  from  above  which  dictated  it,  and  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  law  from  the  beginning  has  been,  I  do  not  say  one 
of  the  main  safeguards  to  the  morals  of  the  students,  but  the 
greatest  of  them  all.  To  make  this  protection  doubly  serve  a 
college  temperance  society  embracing  the  faculty  as  well  as  the 
students,  was  early  formed  under  a  pledge,  not  only  of  total 
abstinence  from  all  intoxicating  drinks,  but  of  the  use  of  to- 
bacco. This  pledge  has  been  presented  to  each  freshman  class 
as  they  have  entered  college,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  in 
some  cases  nearly  all  the  members  have  signed  it,  and  I  believe 
a  majority  in  every  class.  It  can  never  be  known  in  this  world 
how  many  promising  young  men  have  by  these  means  been 
saved  from  falling  into  dissipated  habits  which  would  have 
blighted  their  scholarship,  blasted  their  prospects  of  usefulness 
and  happiness  in  life,  brought  down  gray  hair  with  sorrow  to  the 
grave  and  doomed  them  to  a  drunkard' s  eternity.  I  do  not  say 
that  none  have  fallen  or  indulged  in  habits  of  inebriation  which 
they  brought  with  them,  secretly  to  their  final  undoing  ;  but  I 
am  confident  the  number  must  have  been  very  small.  In 
running  over  the  catalogue  of  more  than  twenty  years  while  I 
was  connected  with  the  college  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain 
that  more  than  three  or  four  out  of  some  eight  hundred  of  our 
graduates  have  turned  out  miserably  dissipated  and  pestilential 
hangers  on  to  the  skirts  of  society.  This  has  been  a  perpetual 
source  of  thanksgiving  to  me  and  will  be  while  I  live — and  the 
more  so  as  I  contrast  it  with  the  state  of  things  when  I  was  in 
college.  If  there  were  any  precautionary  restrictions  to  prevent 
the  undergraduates  from  drinking  ardent  spirits  and  wine  they 
were  little  regarded.  In  my  own  class  of  forty  two  there  were 
at  least  who  drank  badly  and  early  died  drunkards,  besides 
others  who  barely  escaped,  and  this,  I  think,  was  about  the 
proportion  in  other  classes.  Woe  to  the  college  that  does  not 
vigilantly  watch  over  the  habits  of  the  students  in  this  regard. 


12 

Woe  to  the  families  to  which  they  belong  and  to  the  places 
where  they  cumber  the  ground  till  the  undertaker  shovels  their 
putrid  carcases  out  of  sight. 

Here  quote  Dr.  Moore's  answer  accepting  the  Presidency 
of  the  Institution,  p.  70.  So  also  Dr.  Moore's  letter  to  Mr. 
Webster,  p.  72. 

At  a  meeting  on  the  13th  of  June  the  Trustees  "  voted  that 
the  preparatory  studies  of  admission  to  the  Institution  and  the 
course  of  studies  pursued  during  the  four  years  should  be  the 
same  as  in  Yale  College." 

This  was  a  very  wise  endorsement  of  Dr.  Moore's  views  in 
his  letter  of  acceptance.  To  have  aimed  at  anything  below  a 
college  and  short  of  a  charter  for  conferring  degrees  would  not 
only  have  insured  a  negative  from  Dr.  Moore  or  any  other  man 
qualified  to  fill  the  place,  but  would  have  forfeited  the  patron- 
age of  all  the  friends  of  a  thorough  classical  education  for  the 
ministry,  no  less  than  for  the  other  learned  professions.  An 
institution  of  a  lower  grade  anywhere  between  our  academies 
and  colleges  was  not  wanted  and  could  not  have  been  sustained. 

The  inauguration  of  the  President  and  Professors  with  ap- 
propriate exercises  took  place  in  the  village  church  on  the  18th 
of  Sept.  1821,  and  on  the  next  day,  Sept.  19th,  the  College  was 
opened  and  organized  by  the  examination  and  admission  of  the 
four  regular  classes,  viz  :  Seniors  3,  Juniors  6,  Sophomores  19, 
and  Freshmen  31 — total  59— a  larger  number,  I  believe,  than 
ever  was  matriculated  on  the  first  day  of  opening  any  new  col- 
lege. It  was  a  day  of  great  rejoicing.  What  had  God  wrought  ? 

The  ship  was  now  fairly  launched.  An  experienced  pilot 
was  at  the  helm.  The  skies  were  propitious  ;  the  cheering  was 
loud.  With  all  sails  set  she  was  going  to  sea,  but  without  suf- 
ficient rations  for  even  a  short  voyage.  The  crew  were  liable 
soon  to  be  put  upon  short  allowance.  The  craft  had  no  insur- 
ance other  than  the  prayers  and  faith  of  the  builders  ;  but  they 
did  not  allow  themselves  to  doubt  that  He  who  had  so  remark- 
ably smiled  upon  the  enterprise  would  in  his  own  time  and  way 
supply  all  deficiences. 

To  drop  the  figure — here  was  a  college  regularly  organized 


13 

and  officered  ;  and  here  were  four  classes  entering  upon  the 
regular  course  of  studies  for  graduation  in  the  usual  form.  To 
the  astonishment  of  all  outsiders  it  had  sprung  up  as  it  were 
suddenly  out  of  the  ground  ;  aiming  at  nothing  less  than  an 
honorable  competition  with  older  public  seminaries  of  the  first 
class  in  giving  a  thorough  classical  education.  But  propitious 
as  was  its  opening  two  essential  aids  were  still  wanting :  an  en- 
dowment and  a  charter.  The  trustees  could  not  even  have  paid 
their  debts  had  they  been  pressed  to  a  settlement,  and  where 
was  the  money  coming  from  to  pay  the  faculty,  furnish  more 
ample  accommodations  as  they  should  be  wanted,  buy  tools  to 
work  with  in  the  departments  of  philosophy  and  chemistry,  and 
meet  other  unavoidable  expenses  ?  The  term  bills  and  the  in- 
terest on  the  charity  fund,  to  be  sure,  would  help  to  defray  the 
regular  expenses  of  instruction  ;  but  they  must  and  did,  at  first, 
fall  far  short,  even  of  that.  This  was  sufficiently  discouraging 
to  paralyze  the  hearts  of  common  men  in  so  great  an  undertak- 
ing, but  it  was  not  the  most  essential  want  of  the  institution. 

Though  the  classes  would  be  carried  through  the  four 
years'  course  of  studies  under  the  Trustees  of  Amherst  Academy, 
a  college  Charter  with  the  power  to  confer  degrees  in  the  usual 
form  was  absolutely  essential  to  the  prosperity  and  even  the  ex- 
istence of  the  new  institution.  Young  men  who  aspire  to  the 
advantages  of  a  classical  (public)  education,  will  not  go  to  a 
seminary,  however  thorough  the  course  of  studies  may  be,  when 
they  cannot  graduate  with  college  diplomas.  Not  a  class  could 
have  been  induced  to  enter  the  Amherst  Collegiate  Institute 
without  the  implied  assurance  that  if  they  sustained  the  final 
examinations  they  should  be  graduated  and  carry  away  with 
them  the  honors  of  a  chartered  college.  As  .no  charter  came 
many  became  extremely  uneasy  at  the  end  of  the  first  year.  A 
certificate  with  a  contingent  promise  of  a  veritable  parchment  just 
as  soon  as  we  could  get  leave  to  confer  it  was  all  that  the  class 
could  receive.  And  before  the  end  of  the  second  year  some  of 
the  leading  men  in  the  classes  had  nearly  made  up  their  minds 
to  leave,  and  so  dark  were  our  prospects  of  success  in  petition- 
ing for  a  charter,  as  will  be  seen  presently,  that  in  looking  back 


14 

I  wonder  they  did  not  go.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  we 
persuaded  them  to  wait  a  little  longer.  If  the  charter  had  not 
within  the  next  year  come  to  our  relief  it  is  almost  certain  that 
they  would  have  taken  their  dismissions  and  finished  their 
course  where  they  could  receive  diplomas.  Had  the  leading 
men  left  us  others  would  soon  have  followed  for  the  same  rea- 
son. New  classes  would  not  have  entered,  and  then  where 
would  have  been  Amherst  College  ?  Young  men  may  think 
more  of  the  parchment  than  it  is  worth,  but  it  is  worth  some- 
thing. They  will  have  it  at  the  end  of  the  regular  course,  and  it 
would  be  impossible  to  sustain  any  college  without  it.  Nor 
could  the  standard  of  a  thorough  public  education  be  kept  up, 
without  some  such  authorized  testimonial  of  scholarship. 

But  could  a  charter  be  obtained  ?  That  was  the  great 
question  ;  it  was  the  sine  qua  non,  and  the  prospect  was  far  from 
encouraging.  It  was  known  that  the  trustees  and  friends  of 
Williams  College  were  decidedly  opposed  to  it,  and  it  was  ex- 
pected they  would  do  everything  in  their  power  to  prevent  it,  as 
we  shall  see  they  did.  It  was  foreseen,  too,  that  they  would 
carry  all  the  representatives  from  Berkshire  and  probably  from 
Hampshire  with  them  to  the  General  Court  in  opposition.  Nor 
could  it  be  expected  that  Harvard  would  look  with  much  favor 
upon  the  establishment  of  another  orthodox  college,  and  that  al- 
most in  the  heart  of  the  state. 

But  the  case  was  urgent ;  the  necessity  was  imperative  ;  a 
Charter  must  be  had  or  all  would  be  lost.  Accordingly  a  petition 
was  presented  to  the  Legislature  at  their  June  session  in  1823  by 
Dr.  Moore,  Hon.  John  Hooker  and  others,  together  with  a 
memorial  from  subscribers  to  the  Charity  fund,  praying  for  such 
corporate  powers  as  are  usually  given  to  the  Trustees  of  colleges. 
The  Petition  and  Memorial  went  in  due  form  to  the  Senate. 

They  were  referred,  whether  with  or  without  does  not 
appear,  to  a  joint  Committee  of  seven  who  reported  in  favor  of 
the  petitioners  having  leave  to  bring  in  a  bill.  See  pamphlet  A. 
No  further  action  was  taken  at  that  session,  save  a  reference  to 
the  next  Gen.  Court. 

At  the  next  session,  Jan.  17th,  1824,  the  Report   came  up 


15 

in  the  Senate  and  was  debated  at  length  by  some  of  the  ablest 
members.  It  was  earnestly  supported  on  one  side  and  as  stren- 
uously opposed  on  the  other.  The  question  on  the  acceptance 
of  the  Report  was  taken  and  22  out  of  37  votes  in  the  affirma- 
tive. It  went  down  to  the  House  and  was  referred  to  the  June 
session.  (An  interlinear  pencilling  in  the  handwriting  of  Pres. 
Humphrey  says  :  "rejected  by  a  vote  of  91  yeas  to  108  nays." 
—Ed.) 

This  was  encouraging  to  the  Petitioners.  They  had  got  the 
upper  branch  of  the  Legislature  in  their  favor  and  had  sanguine 
hopes  of  carrying  the  Bill  through  the  lower  house  when  it 
should  come  up  for  discussion.  In  this  they  were  disappointed. 

To  prevent  all  occasion  of  delay  and  bring  the  question  be- 
fore the  House,  the  Committee  of  the  Trustees  drew  up  the 
following  statement,  which  was  published  in  more  than  30  news- 
papers. It  was  dated  March  12th,  1814.  See  the  last  leaf  of 
the  pamphlet  C. 

The  following  petition  of  the  founders  and  proprietors  was 
also  presented  June  5th,  1823.  This  petition  was  signed  by 
about  four-fifths  of  the  subscribers  to  the  $50,000  Charity  fund, 
and  similar  petitions  were  presented  by  more  than  500  sub- 
scribers to  other  funds,  to  which  was  appended  a  schedule, 

1.  Of  the  course  of  studies  pursued  in  the  Institution. 

2.  The  permanent  charity  fund. 

3.  Disposable  property  ;  what  in  and  how  secured. 

4.  Another  college  demanded  to  accommodate  the  227  stu- 
dents that  go  out  of  the  state  for  their  education. 

5.  Expenditures  and  means  of  support. 

6.  Public  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  petition.     See  pamphlet 
marked  D. 

Under  these  several  heads  the  petitioners  presented  their 
claims  for  a  charter  and  the  means  on  which  they  relied  for  the 
support  of  a  college. 

To  enforce  these  claims,  in  behalf  of  the  Trustees  I  came 
before  the  joint  committee  early  in  the  session  and  the 

cause  as  well  as  I  could  in  a  speech  of  an  hour  and  a  half.  I 
was  followed  by  Solicitor  Davis  in  a  strong  and  eloquent  ap- 


16 


peal.  An  agent  from  Williams  appeared  against  us  in  reply 
which  was  patiently  listened  to  by  the  committee.  They  sus- 
tained the  Senate  report  in  our  favor  at  the  preceding 
session,  and  the  whole  subject  was  fairly  before  the  House. 
An  earnest  debate  sprung  up  on  the  question  of  concurrence 
and  it  was  strenuously  argued  in  opposition  chiefly  by  members 
from  Berkshire  and  our  own  neighborhood,  that  a  third  college 
was  not  wanted  in  Massachusetts  ;  that  according  to  our  own 
showing  we  had  not  funds  to  sustain  a  college  ;  that  nothing 
like  the  amount  presented  on  paper  would  ever  be  realized  and 
that  there  was  reason  to  believe  that  many  of  the  subscriptions 
had  been  obtained  by  false  representations.  These  were  for- 
midable objections  against  giving  us  a  charter,  and  though 
fairly  answered  by  our  friends  as  we  thought,  if  the  vote  had 
been  taken  it  would  probably  have  gone  against  us. 

It  was  finally  resolved  that  more  fully  to  test  the  validity  of 
our  claims  for  a  charter  and  the  objections  urged  against  it, 
a  commission  should  be  sent  to  Amherst  under  instructions  to 
inquire  what  reliable  funds  we  had  ;  what  means  had  been  re- 
sorted to  by  the  petitioners  or  by  persons  acting  in  behalf  of  their 
institution,  and  what  method  had  been  adopted  to  procure  stu- 
dents, and  report  to  the  next  meeting  of  the  Gen.  Court.  A 
committee  of  five  was  accordingly  appointed.  They  were  all 
of  them  intelligent,  fair-minded  men,  but  not  one  of  them  sym- 
pathized with  us  in  our  well  known  orthodox  religious  opinions. 
This  we  thought  might  unconsciously  operate  against  us.  But 
in  the  end  it  proved  to  be  for  our  advantage. 

Thus  our  hopes  were  again  deferred  and  the  next  thing  was 
to  prepare  for  the  visitorial  investigation.  This  was  no  easy 
task  ;  for  although  the  committee  in  making  up  their  report  ex- 
onerates the  trustees  and  their  agents  from  any  intentional  mis- 
representations in  circulating  subscriptions  or  otherwise  obtain- 
ing funds,  our  finances  were  far  from  being  in  a  favorable  state 
to  meet  the  prying  scrutiny  which  awaited  them  before  the 
Committee.  While  all  that  had  not  been  paid  in  were  bona  fide 
subscriptions  and  obligations,  they  were  not  in  the  right  shape 
for  presentation.  This  was  especially  the  case  with  the  charity 


17 

fund  of  $50,000,  on  which  we  had  so  earnestly  based  our  claim 
for  a  Charter.  The  conditions  of  that  subscription  were  that 
no  part  of  it  should  be  binding  under  that  full  amount.  By 
great  and  persevering  efforts  they  were  brought  up  to  $45,000, 
(in  pencil  $35,000  is  written, — Ed.)  leaving  a  deficit  of  $15,- 
000.  To  meet  this,  several  individuals  gave  their  bond  to  the 
Trustees.  While  this  guarantee  of  $15,000  was  a  legal  obliga- 
tion and  nobody  doubted  their  ability  to  pay  it,  it  was 
understood  that  they  must  be  exonerated  by  additional 
subscriptions.  They  had  subscribed  very  liberally  to  bring  the 
fund  up  to  $45,000,  (again in  pencil,  $35,000,— Ed.)  and  they  did 
not  expect  to  be  called  upon  to  pay  the  balance.  It  was  not 
reasonable  they  should.  Something  must  be  done  to  put  this, 
our  main  reliance,  in  a  better  shape.  It  would  not  do  to  lay  it 
before  the  investigating  committee  as  it  then  stood.  The  bond 
must  be  immediately  enforced,  or  subscriptions  must  be 
obtained  to  cancel  it.  The  Trustees  decided  without  hesitation 
to  make  a  new  appeal  to  the  friends  of  the  seminary  for  help. 
They  sent  me  to  Boston,  where  I  laid  the  case  before  a  number 
of  gentlemen,  at  a  meeting  called  for  the  purpose,  and  succeeded 
in  raising  about  half  the  needed  amount  of  $15,000.  Still,  as 
much  more  was  wanted,  and  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  get  it.  To 
this  end  some  of  the  old  subscribers,  together  with  the  Faculty, 
were  pretty  heavily  assessed,  and  with  other  help,  the  full 
amount  was  made  up. 

Nothing  could  be  done  with  our  other  subscriptions  and  ob- 
ligations, but  to  let  them  take  their  chances  before  the  Commit- 
tee, just  as  they  were. 

Two  or  three  weeks  before  the  time  appointed  for  the  in- 
vestigation, an  agent  from  Williams  College  brought  me  a  letter 
from  the  chairman  of  the  Committee,  virtually  requiring  us  to 
put  into  his  hands  all  our  subscriptions  and  other  to  aid  him  in 
preparing  for  the  trial ! 

I  was  directed  to  answer  this  remarkable  demand,  which  I 
did,  and  put  it  into  the  hand  of  the  agent,  saying  that  we  had 
been  notified  of  the  appointment  of  the  legislative  Committee  to 
come  to  Amherst  and  look  into  our  condition  and  make  report 


18 

at  the  next  session  ;  that  we  believed  the  Committee  had  not 
authorized  their  chairman  to  demand  any  of  our  papers  in  ad- 
vance of  their  meeting ;  and  that  then  all  should  be  put  into 
their  hands.  Baffled  in  this  application  for  the  means  of  look- 
ing up  our  subscribers  for  testimony  against  us,  the  agent  was 
left  to  find  them  as  best  he  could  ;  and  to  do  him  justice,  he 
was  very  successful,  as  appeared  when  he  brought  them  per- 
sonally and  by  their  affidavits  before  the  Committee. 

The  investigation  commenced  on  the  4th  day  of  Oct.,  (1821 
appears  in  pencil, — Ed. )  and  continued  in  session  until  the  19th. 
This  was  no  child's  play.  We  were  to  be  put  down,  or 
encouraged  to  go  on.  In  their  Report  the  Committee  say  "  The 
Trustees  appeared  before  them  by  council;  (Mr.  now  Judge 
Els  worth  of  Hartford)  afforded  every  facility  to  the  Committee 
in  investigating  the  affairs  of  the  Institution,  and  discovered  the 
utmost  readiness  to  lay  before  them  all  the  transactions  of  the 
Board  and  its  agents.  That  three  distinguished  gentlemen 
appeared  as  council  for  the  remonstrants  against  a  petition  for 
a  charter,  and  gave  great  aid  to  the  Committee  in  conducting  the 
investigation."  One  of  them  has  long  been  on  the  bench  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Rarely  has  there  been  a  more  thorough  and  searching  in- 
vestigation. All  our  books  and  papers  were  brought  out  and 
laid  on  the  table.  Nothing  was  withheld.  Every  subscription 
note  and  obligation  was  carefully  examined,  and  hardly  any- 
thing passed  without  being  protested  by  the  able  counsel  against 
us.  The  trial  lasted  a  fortnight,  the  room  was  crowded  from 
day  to  day  by  anxious  listeners.  Were  we  to  live  or  die  ? 
Were  we  to  have  a  charter  or  to  be  forever  shut  out  from  the 
sisterhood  of  Colleges  ?  That  was  the  question,  and  it  caused 
many  sleepless  nights  in  Amherst.  Whatever  might  be  the  re- 
sult we  cheerfully  acknowledged  that  the  Committee  had  con- 
ducted the  investigation  with  exemplary  patience  and  perfect 
fairness.  When  the  papers  were  all  disposed  of  the  case  was 
ably  summed  up  by  the  counsel  and  the  Committee  adjourned. 

Many  incidents  occurred  in  the  progress  of  the  investigation 
which  kept  up  the  interest,  and  some  of  which  were  very  amus- 
ing ;  but  I  have  only  room  for  two. 


19 

Among  our  subscriptions  of  one  dollar  and  under  there  was 
a  very  long  list  amounting  to  several  hundred  dollars,  mostly  by 
females,  and  children  under  age,  which  did  not  escape  the  notice 
of  the  lawyers  from  Williamstown  and  on  which  it  was  plain  we 
could  place  very  little  reliance.  It  was  no  trifling  task  to  arrange 
and  figure  them  up  so  as  to  present  them  in  due  form  before 
the  Committee.  This  they  undertook  to  do  after  the  evening 
adjournment,  so  as  to  have  their  report  ready  in  the  morning. 
They  sat  up  nearly  all  night,  as  was  afterwards  reported,  and 
anticipated  the  pleasure  of  seeing  all  those  subscriptions  thrown 
out  at  once.  Learning  in  some  way  what  they  were  about  three 
of  the  Trustees  drew  up  and  signed  an  obligation  to  pay  them 
to  the  full  amount.  The  morning  came ;  the  session  was 
opened  ;  the  parties  were  present,  the  gentlemen  who  had  taken 
so  much  pains  to  astound  the  Committee  by  their  discovery 
were  just  about  laying  it  upon  the  table,  when  the  obligation 
assuming  the  whole  was  handed  in  by  one  of  the  subscribers.  I 
leave  the  reader  to  imagine  the  scene  of  disappointment  on  one 
side,  and  of  suppressed  cheering  on  the  other.  It  turned  out  to 
be  a  fair  money  operation  in  our  favor. 

The  other  incident  was  still  more  amusing.  When  the 
notes  came  up  to  pass  the  ordeal  of  inquiry  and  protest,  one  of 
a  hundred  dollars  was  produced  from  a  gentleman  in  Danvers. 
"Who  is  this  Mr.  P.  ?"  demanded  one  of  the  astute  lawyers. 
"  Who  knows  anything  about  his  responsibility?"  "Sir,  will 
you  let  me  look  at  that  note,"  said  Mr.  S.  V.  S.  Wilder,  one  of 
our  trustees,  and  taking  a  package  of  bank  bills  from  his  pocket, 
"  Mr.  Chairman,  I  will  cash  that  note,  sir,"  and  laid  down  the 
money.  It  was  not  long  before  another  note  was  protested  in 
the  same  way.  "  Let  me  look  at  it.  I  will  cash  it,  sir,"  and 
laid  another  bank  bill  upon  the  table.  By  and  by  a  third  note 
was  objected  to.  "I  will  cash  it,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Wilder,  and 
was  handing  over  the  money  when  the  chaiiman  interposed. 
"Sir,  we  didn't  come  here  to  raise  money  for  Amherst  Col- 
lege," and  declined  receiving  it.  How  long  Mr.  Wilder' s  pack- 
age would  have  held  out  I  don't  know,  but  the  scene  produced 
a  profound  sensation  all  around  the  board,  but  very  few  pro- 
tests were  offered  afterward. 


20 

In  the  progress  of  the  investigation  the  Committee  at  the 
request  of  the  counsel  from  Williams  College  summoned  a  num- 
ber of  subscribers  who  refused  to  pay  to  appear  and  give  their 
reasons.  Their  excuse  was  that  when  they  subscribed  they 
were  assured  by  the  agents  that  there  was  no  doubt  Williams 
College  would  be  removed  to  Amherst.  As  it  was  not  they 
didn't  consider  themselves  bound  to  pay.  Affidavits  to  the 
same  effect  were  also  presented.  The  object  of  all  this  array 
of  testimony  and  affidavits  was  to  prove  the  subscriptions  in 
question  were  obtained  by  false  pretenses,  and  I  have  very  little 
doubt  that  our  opposers  very  confidently  expected  that  the  re- 
port of  the  Committee  would  be  against  our  receiving  a  Charter. 
But  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure  a  pamphlet  of  36  pages  was 
immediately  prepared  and  brought  out  for  circulation,  contain- 
ing the  testimony  and  affidavits  before  the  Committee,  together 
with  a  number  of  letters  from  other  subscribers  who  declined 
paying  on  the  ground  that  they  were  induced  to  subscribe  by 
the  expectation  and  assurance  that  Williams  College  would  come 
to  Amherst  and  be  united  with  our  Collegiate  Institute. 

It  was  never  denied,  I  believe,  that  this  pamphlet  came 
from  the  same  source  as  the  opposition  before  the  Committee 
did,  and  when  the  General  Court  met  in  January  the  representa- 
tives found  it  in  all  their  seats,  as  it  were  forestalling  the  Report 
of  the  investigating  Committee  if  it  should  happen  to  be  in  our 
favor.  How  it  came  there,  from  what  source,  every  man  was 
left  to  guess  for  himself  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances. 

See  the  letter  E.  in  the  bound  volume. 

When  on  the  3d  of  Jan.  1825,  the  question  was  called  up 
in  the  House  the  Report  (see  pamphlet  F.)  of  the  Committee 
was  presented  and  read  in  which  they  first  exhibit  the  available 
funds  of  the  institution,  and  with  regard  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  subscriptions  had  been  obtained,  which  was  one  of  the  main 
charges  brought  against  us,  they  say :  The  persons  who  ob- 
tained the  subscriptions  without  doubt  spoke  confidently  of  the 
removal  of  Williams  College.  The  Committee  entertain  no 
doubt  that  many  of  the  subscribers  calculated  that  they  would 
not  be  holden  to  pay  unless  Williams  College  should  be  removed 


21 

to  Amherst.  But  at  the  same  time  in  justice  to  the  persons  who 
obtained  the  subscriptions,  we  are  bound  to  report  that  no  satis- 
factory evidence  was  presented  to  us  that  in  any  case  the  re- 
moval of  the  College  (Williams)  was  made  a  condition  of  the 
payment  of  the  subscription. 

In  relation  to  other  charges  the  Committee  have  examined 
all  such  as  were  brought  to  their  knowledge  by  the  counsel  for 
the  remonstrants,  or  any  other  source,  and  they  do  not  find  any 
of  them  which  implicate  the  Trustees  or  gentlemen  in  the  insti- 
tution supported.  There  appears  to  have  been  nothing  so  far 
as  the  Committee  can  judge  (and  they  examined  many  witnesses 
on  the  point)  to  show  that  the  Trustees  or  persons  employed  in 
the  institution  have  resorted  to  any  improper  or  unusual  means 
in  obtaining  subscriptions.  There  can  be  no  question  but  that 
some  of  the  many  agents  were  animated  with  an  indiscreet  zeal 
and  they  did  as  is  always  done  in  similar  cases,  overstepped 
the  bounds  of  prudence  and  of  the  instructions  given  them. 

The  third  inquiry  of  the  Committee  was  directed  to  ' '  what 
methods  have  been  adopted  to  procure  students  "  and  they  do 
not  find  that  any  unusual  or  improper  measures  have  been 
taken.  The  whole  number  of  the  students  in  the  institution  is  136. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  select  in  any  part  of  the  State  a 
place  better  calculated  for  a  College  than  that  on  which  Am- 
herst Institution  have  located  their  buildings,  whether  regard  be 
had  to  the  site,  the  surrounding  country  or  in  its  local  situation 
as  it  regards  the  whole  Commonwealth. 

The  refusal  of  the  Legislature  to  grant  a  Charter  to  Am- 
herst will  not,  it  is  believed,  prevent  its  progress.  A  large  and 
respectable  body  of  citizens  in  every  part  of  the  Commonwealth 
are  of  opinion  that  the  public  good  requires  the  incorporation  of 
'this  institution  and  that  the  refusal  of  a  charter  to  the  petitioners 
by  a  state  which  grants  charters  with  readiness  to  almost  every 
description  of  applicants  is  a  species  of  persecution.  Your 
Committee  are  therefore  of  opinion  that  any  further  delay  to 
the  incorporation  of  Amherst  institution  would  very  much  in- 
crease the  excitement  which  exists  in  the  community  on  the 
subject,  and  have  a  tendency  to  interrupt  those  harmonious 


22      . 

feelings  which  now  prevail.  They  therefore  would  respectfully 
suggest  that  a  College  should  now  be  incorporated,  to  be  located 
at  Amherst,  conformable  to  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners." 
Signed,  Joseph  E.  Sprague.  These  short  extracts  were  all  the 
essential  points  presented  in  the  Report  of  fifteen  pages.  See 
pamphlet  F. 

This  was  a  step  in  advance  and  an  important  advantage 
gained  through  the  examining  committee.  But  when  the  ques- 
tion of  adoption  came  before  the  House  it  was  soon  manifest 
that  it  would  meet  with  very  strong  opposition.  There  was  to 
be  a  very  hard  struggle  and  so  influential  were  some  of  our  op- 
posers  near  home  that  it  seemed  very  doubtful  how  the  case 
would  turn.  Should  we  get  a  charter  or  should  we  be  again  dis- 
appointed and  sent  empty  away  ?  As  the  discussion  progressed 
the  probabilities  preponderated  somet  mes  for  and  sometimes 
against ;  but  after  a  long  and  earnest  debate  which  brought  out 
the  best  talent  in  the  House,  the  question  was  taken  and  decided 
in  the  affirmative.  When  the  announcement  was  made  we 
breathed  freer.  The  object  of  our  long  importunity  was  gained. 
We  went  home  with  light  hearts  ;  the  students  illuminated  the 
college  buildings  ;  we  had  got  the  Charter  with  a  Board  of  Trus- 
tees and  should  soon  be  organized  by  the  choice  of  a  President 
and  professors.  This  was  done  without  delay  and  at  the  ensu- 
ing Commencement  the  three  first  classes  received  their  diplo- 
mas. From  126  students  in  1823  the  number  increased  the 
next  year  to  136,  in  1825  it  rose  to  152,  1826  to  170,  1827 
to  200,  1828  to  211,  1829  to  207,  1830,  188,  1831,  197,  1832, 
227,  1833,  239,  and  the  next  year,  1834,  the  number  of  under- 
graduates rose,  I  think,  to  more  than  260,  and  for  two  years 
stood  next  to  Yale,  even  above  Harvard. 

I  cannot  be  expected  to  say  much  of  the  twenty  two  years 
of  my  connection  with  the  College,  nor  is  it  necessary  that  I 
should,  as  the  materials  for  a  full  history  are  at  hand  in  the  Col- 
lege archives.  I  may  just  add,  however,  that  when  I  entered 
upon  my  office  in  1823,  the  students  worshipped  on  the  Sab- 
bath in  the  old  parish  meeting  house  on  the  spot  where  the 
Lyceum  and  Observatory  now  stand.  How  it  was  before  I 


23 

came  I  can't  say,  but  I  soon  found  that  the  young  men  of  the 
society  felt  themselves  crowded  by  the  students  and  that  there 
were  increasing  symptoms  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  of  collision 
and  disturbance.  I  accordingly  told  the  Trustees  that  I  thought 
it  would  be  safest  and  best  for  us  to  withdraw  and  worship 
by  ourselves  in  one  of  the  College  buildings  till  a  chapel  could 
be  built  for  permanent  occupancy.  They  authorized  us  to  do 
so,  and  I  have  never  doubted  the  expediency  of  the  change  on 
this  and  even  more  important  grounds. 

Though  there  is  but  one  gospel  for  all  persons,  wherever 
they  may  worship,  the  most  profitable  preaching  for  a  promis- 
cuous congregation  is  not  exactly  adapted  to  meet  the  case  of 
young  men  in  the  course  of  a  public  education.  They  need 
more  frequent  and  direct  appeals  from  the  pulpit,  suited  to 
their  age  and  circumstances,  than  they  can  have  where  so 
many  other  classes ;  young  and  old,  parents  and  children, 
rich  and  poor,  men  of  business  and  men  of  public  influ 
ence,  are  to  receive  their  portion  of  the  bread  of  life  in  due  sea- 
son. While  there  is  but  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  so 
much  must  be  said  to  others  that  college  classes  in  the  promis- 
cuous assembly  are  apt  to  feel  that  most  of  the  preaching  is  not 
meant  for  them,  and  so  they  go  to  sleep  or  let  their  thoughts 
wander  with  the  fool's  eyes  in  the  ends  of  the  earth.  There  is 
nothing  like  "  Thou  art  the  man  "  to  arrest  attention  and  carry 
conviction  to  the  conscience  and  the  heart  of  the  sinner.  This 
is  what  all  need. 

In  the  Chapel  the  preacher  has  the  students  in  a  body  right 
before  him.  They  are  his  congregation.  He  preaches  to  them. 
They  know  he  means  them  and  nobody  else,  and  they  can't 
shift  off  the  truth  and  the  responsibility  of  hearing  and  obeying 
it  to  anybody  and  everybody  else  as  in  a  mingled  congregation. 
They  are  constrained  to  feel  that  religion,  that  salvation,  is  per- 
sonal concern  which  they  may  not  ignore,  and  if  the  preaching 
during  the  four  years  that  they  sit  under  it  (is  personal, — Ed.) 
they  are  more  likely  to  be  awakened  and  savingly  converted  than 
if  they  were  where  they  could  dodge  the  sword  of  the  Spirit. 
The  arrangement  has  from  the  beginning  worked  well  in  Am- 
herst  College,  and  nothing  would  induce  the  Trustees  to  alter  it. 


24 


And  here  let  me  just  say  that  in  my  judgment  requiring  the 
professors  who  are  preachers  to  occupy  the  pulpit  by  turns,  as 
is  and  always  has  been  the  case  in  Amherst  College,  has  some 
advantages  over  that  of  devolving  the  whole  of  the  preaching 
upon  a  theological  professor.  It  is  less  likely  to  be  scholastic 
and  formal.  It  brings  the  professors  before  the  students  as  re- 
ligious men  and  gives  them  a  religious  influence  in  College 
which  they  would  not  otherwise  have.  A  church  was  early  or- 
ganized in  Amherst  College.  The  President  is  the  pastor.  He 
preaches  every  other  Sabbath  in  the  chapel  and  the  professors 
in  succession  take  the  alternate  Sabbath.  For  some  two  or 
three  years  I  did  most  of  the  preaching  as  best  I  could,  besides 
hearing  the  Senior  class  daily  in  all  their  studies  save  the  nat- 
ural sciences.  The  work  was  a  great  deal  better  done  by 
professors  afterwards,  but  it  was  the  best  we  could  do  then. 

I  have  not  spoken  of  the  many  glorious  revivals  which 
have  been  enjoyed  in  College  so  that  no  class  has  ever  gradu- 
ated without  witnessing  at  least  one  of  them.  Among  all  the 
rich  blessings  bestowed  upon  the  institution  these  times  of  re- 
freshing from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  stand  at  the  head.  I 
am  quite  sure  they  will  be  so  regarded  when  they  come  to  be 
arranged  and  woven  into  an  extended  history  of  the  college. 

Having  now  rapidly  glanced  at  the  rise  and  struggles  and 
progress  of  the  Institution  up  to  the  time  of  its  establishment 
under  a  College  Charter,  the  vote  of  the  Trustees  under  which  I 
have  been  collecting  and  arranging  materials  for  future  use 
would  excuse  me  from  further  enlargement.  But  in  looking 
back  upon  all  the  way  in  which  God  led  the  projectors  and  early 
friends  and  patrons  of  the  College,  I  cannot  while  I  lift  up  my 
heart  in  fervent  thanksgiving,  refrain  from  giving  utterance  to 
some  of  the  reflections  which  crowd  upon  my  mind,  in  view  of 
the  remarkable  success  of  the  enterprise  from  its  inception  to 
its  accomplishment.  And, 

First,  let  me  say  what  I  think  of  the  character  and  instru- 
mentality of  the  men  who  planned  and  laid  the  foundations  of 
Amherst  College.  When  God  has  any  important  end  to  ac- 
complish He  raises  up  and  qualifies  to  carry  on  His  pur- 


25 

poses.  This  has  always  been  the  economy  of  His  adminis- 
tration. Thus  when  He  would  deliver  the  tribes  from  Egyptian 
bondage  He  raised  up  Moses  to  be  their  leader  and  law-giver. 
When  Moses  was  dead  Joshua  was  commissioned  to  go  before 
them  to  take  possession  of  the  promised  land  and  prosecute  the 
wars  of  the  Lord  against  the  Canaanites  whom  He  had  doomed 
to  extermination  for  their  enormous  wickedness.  So  he  raised 
up  Samuel  and  David  and  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  to  reform  and 
govern  the  nation  and  lead  the  remnant  back  from  their  seventy 
years'  captivity.  In  like  manner  he  raised  up  Luther  and  Cal- 
vin and  their  compeers  of  like  precious  faith  to  take  the  lead  in 
the  glorious  Protestant  Reformation.  And  in  later  ages  the  his- 
tory of  the  church  gives  us  the  names  of  Whitfield  and  the 
Wesley s  and  Edwards,  whom  God  raised  up  as  leaders  and 
reformers  in  their  time. 

The  same  holds  true  in  the  execution  of  all  God's  benevo- 
lent purposes.  Whenever  he  wants  a  new  institution  to  advance 
the  interests  of  His  kingdom  in  the  world  He  raises  up  just  such 
men  as  are  needed  to  do  the  work.  They  may  or  may  not  be 
great  or  honorable  in  the  sight  of  men.  They  will  be  more  or 
less  so  as  more  or  less  planning  and  executive  qualifications  are 
needed.  A  great  military  leader  is  not  wanted  to  put  down  a 
city  riot,  but  when  a  nation  is  to  be  emancipated  God  raises  up 
a  Washington  to  command  their  armies. 

Before  a  stroke  was  struck  which  led  to  the  founding  and 
establishment  of  Amherst  College,  God  had  been  raising  up 
and  qualifying  agents  altogether  unconsciously  to  themselves  to 
take  the  lead  in  the  enterprise  when  the  set  time'  should  come. 
I  cannot  name  all  the  men  who  were  concerned  in  projecting  it 
and  doing  the  first  work,  but  some  of  them  were  so  prominent 
that  there  can  be  no  mistake  in  placing  them  at  the  head  of 
the  list. 

And  in  looking  over  the  whole  ground  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  putting  the  name  of  Rufus  Graves  first.  I  do  not  say  he 
was  the  greatest  man  among  them  all.  It  was  not  necessary  he 
should  be  for  the  part  which  Providence  assigned  him  in  the 
work.  But  for  that  essential  service  in  the  early  stages  of  the 


26 

enterprise  he  stood  at  the  head.  No  other  man  could  or  would 
have  taken  the  time  and  done  what  he  did.  Col.  Graves  was 
an  educated  man  of  a  remarkably  sanguine  temperament.  He 
poured  his  whole  soul  into  whatever  he  undertook  and  made 
light  of  obstacles  which  in  the  very  beginning  would  have  dis- 
couraged any  other  man. 

Revivals  had  brought  into  the  churches  many  pious  young 
men  of  promising  talents  who  were  wanted  in  the  ministry  at 
home  and  abroad,  who  could,  not  obtain  a  suitable  education 
without  pecuniary  assistance,  and  could  anything  be  done  at 
less  expense  outside  of  the  Colleges  to  help  them  ?  When  to 
this  end  it  was  proposed  to  endow  a  theological  professorship 
in  connection  with  Amherst  Academy  he  promptly  took  the 
agency  to  collect  the  funds  and  devoted  a  year  or  more  to  the 
service  with  all  his  constitutional  and  religious  ardor,  but  with- 
out success.  When  it  was  given  up  and  the  Trustees  of  the 
Academy  voted  to  circulate  a  subscription  to  raise  $50,000  as  a 
permanent  fund  to  aid  pious  indigent  young  men  of  promising 
talents  to  a  public  education  for  the  ministry,  he  enlisted  in  the 
service  with  all  his  heart  and  soul.  As  he  proceeded  in  circu- 
lating the  subscription  it  absorbed  his  whole  mind.  It  became 
a  perfect  passion  with  him.  It  may  almost  be  said  that  he 
thought  and  talked  of  nothing  else.  He  drew  up  a  Constitu- 
tion for  the  security  and  disbursement  of  the  annual  interest  of 
the  fund  and  went  everywhere  soliciting  subscriptions  of  all 
classes  of  people  from  the  highest  he  could  obtain  down  to  a 
dollar  and  under.  So  entirely  was  he  devoted  to  this  one  object 
that  for  weeks  when  he  was  abroad  he  forgot  that  he  had  a 
family  at  home  to  care  for.  In  this  arduous  service  he  spent 

and  succeeded  at  last  in  raising  the  subscription 

with  a  responsible  guarantee,  to  $50,000.  This  it  was  believed 
no  other  man  could  have  done.  And  without  this  fund  Am- 
herst College  could  never  have  been  built  and  got  a  charter. 
In  this  view  of  the  case  the  church  and  the  world  are  more  in- 
debted to  Rufus  Graves  for  all  the  good  that  has  been  done 
through  the  establishment  of  the  Institution  than  to  any  other 
man.  His  name  certainly  stands  with  the  first  three  as  one  of 
the  founders.  But  he  never  could  have  originated  and  success- 


27 

fully  prosecuted  the  enterprise  without  the  aid,  checks  and 
balances  of  cooler  heads  than  his  own.  He  was  too  ardent,  too 
impulsive,  to  be  a  safe  leader  out  of  his  own  line.  But  just  such 
men  are  wanted  in  the  complicated  relations  and  enterprises  of 
human  society.  If  they  are  inclined  to  go  too  fast ;  if  they  are 
too  sanguine  to  be  safe  ;  if  they  sometimes  fail  in  their  favorite 
venturesome  speculations  ;  if  now  and  then  they  build  castles  in 
the  air  and  their  most  sanguine  expectations  come  to  nothing, 
the  world  could  not  well  do  without  them.  To  just  such  men  it 
is  indebted  for  a  great  many  of  the  most  important  inventions 
and  discoveries  in  very  age.  As  there  are  many  members  in 
one  human  body  and  all  are  necessary  to  harmonious  and  effi- 
cient action,  so  the  body  politic  would  be  incomplete  without 
such  men  as  I  am  here  describing.  Col.  Graves  had  wise  asso- 
ciates and  advisers,  or  all  his' zeal  and  perse verence  would  have 
been  but  little  better  than  lost  labor.  Such  men  God  had 
raised  up  to  carry  forward  the  undertaking.  They  were  men  of 
faith  and  prayer.  They  were  such  men  as  Noah  Webster, 
Samuel  F.  Dickinson,  Nathaniel  Smith,  Rev.  John  Fiske,  Rev. 
Thomas  Snell,  Rev.  Joshua  Crosby,  Rev.  Theophilus  Packard, 
John  Leland,  all  good  and  true  men,  with  others  of  like  precious 
faith.  I  have  with  common  consent,  I  believe,  and  for  the  reasons 
which  I  have  given,  placed  Col.  Graves  at  the  head  of  the  list, 
and  from  all  the  information  I  can  get,  Mr.  Dickinson  is  enti- 
tled to  stand  next,  as  his  intimate  adviser  and  helper.  Although 
ardent  and  enterprising  and  hopeful  himself  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree, he  was  such  a  cool  and  reliable  adviser  as  Col.  Graves 
needed,  and  was  untiring  in  his  personal  services  as  well  as  lib- 
eral in  his  contributions. 

The  founders  of  great  and  good  institutions  may  be  likened 
to  the  stalwart  masons  who  work  out  of  sight  below  the  surface 
in  laying  up  the  cellar  wall  of  a  costly  edifice  with  great  stones. 
It  is  the  hardest  to  be  done  and  it  is  the  most  essential  that  it 
should  be  thoroughly  done  for  it  is  the  foundation  on  which  the 
whole  building  rests.  But  it  is  not  seen  and  but  small  credit  is 
likely  to  be  given  to  the  sturdy  workmen  who  laid  the  founda- 


28 

tion  deep  and  solid,  compared  with  what  is  given  to  those  who 
do  the  lighter  work  of  rearing,  adorning  and  finishing  the  edifice. 

So  the  founders  of  a  college,  while  they  have  the  hardest 
and  roughest  of  the  work  to  do,  it  is  mostly  out  of  sight,  toiling 
in  the  cellar  as  it  were,  and  but  little  thought  of,  while  those 
who  come  after  them,  when  everything  is  settled  and  the  work 
is  comparatively  light,  are  counted  as  benefactors.  The  men 
whom  I  have  named  and  their  efficient  helpers  were  the  founders 
of  Amherst  College  in  the  midst  of  great  opposition,  in  the  face 
of  discouragements  which  seemed  to  men  of  little  faith  insuper- 
able—and they  ought  to  be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance. 
Most  of  them  lived  to  see  their  most  sanguine  hopes  more  than 
realized  in  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  College.  And  this 
is  only  one  case  in  a  thousand  where  good  men  inaugurate  great 
and  good  public  enterprises.  They  know  not  what  they  are  do- 
ing. With  all  their  zeal  and  glowing  anticipations  they  seldom 
dare  to  expect  the  half  of  what  in  due  time  is  realized. 

I  have  already  said  that  the  $50,000  Fund  was  the  nucleus 
without  which  the  College  could  never  have  been  established. 
The  founders  expected  that  it  would  greatly  bless  the  church 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  pious  Timothys  whom  it 
would  help  to  educate.  But  it  has  bestowed  one  incalculable 
blessing  upon  the  Institution  which  most  likely  but  few  if  any  of 
them  anticipated.  By  bringing  large  numbers  of  pious  young 
men  to  the  College  it  has  given  it  a  religious  character,  which  it 
could  not  otherwise  have  had.  From  the  beginning  one-half, 
often  two-thirds,  and  sometimes  three-fourths  of  the  students 
have  been  professors  of  religion.  What  an  influence  they  must 
have  had  upon  their  unconverted  classmates,  and  who  can  tell, 
or  how  many  of  them  in  answer  to  their  prayer  have  been  con- 
verted in  the  many  glorious  revivals  with  which  the  college  has 
been  blessed. 

Wherever  two  or  three  hundred  young  men  are  brought 
and  kept  together  four  years  in  the  most  excitable  period  of 
their  lives  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  there  were  no  outbreaks 
in  so nne  of  the  classes.  There  always  have  been  in  our  Ameri- 
can as  well  as  other  colleges.  Young  men  everywhere  are  apt 


29 

to  be  restive  under  tutors  and  governors.  In  this  respect  Am- 
herst  College  has  been  highly  favored.  Very  few  disturbances 
of  any  sort  have  given  the  faculty  trouble.  The  only  rebellion 
there  has  ever  been  was  professedly  for  conscience  sake.  Some 
of  the  members  of  a  class  were  dissatisfied  with  the  appoint- 
ments for  the  junior  exhibition,  and  asked  to  be  excused  upon 
the  plea  that  they  considered  these  college  distinctions  wrong, 
and  that  they  could  not  conscientiously  perform  the  parts  as- 
signed them.  One  of  them  refused  in  such  a  style  of  insubord- 
ination that  the  faculty  were  constrained  to  require  a  suitable 
acknowledgment,  which  he  insolently  refused  to  make,  and  ap- 
pealed to  the  sympathies  of  the  class,  which  unhappily  pre- 
vailed, and  arrayed  them  against  us  and  the  laws  of  the  Institu- 
tion. They  carried  it  so  far  and  were  so  fast  spreading  the  ex- 
citement among  the  other  classes,  that  we  were  compelled  either 
to  surrender  our  authority  into  their  hands  or  require  every  one 
engaged  in  the  rebellion  to  make  a  suitable  confession  under  the 
penalty  of  being  cut  off  from  College.  We  chose  the  latter, 
and  though  it  went  hard  against  their  consciences,  or  something 
else  in  that  region,  they  submitted  and  returned  to  their  studies  ; 
the  next  year  in  due  course  the  whole  class  was  graduated,  and 
no  class  has  ventured  upon  a  rebellion  in  Amherst  College  since. 
Another  reflection.  The  founders  of  the  College  were 
orthodox  religious  men  in  the  strict  New  England  sense  of  the 
term.  And  though  no  religious  test  was  required  for  admission 
to  its  privileges,  they  intended  it  should  be  an  Evangelical  col- 
lege in  the  Calvinistic  and  Edwardean  sense,  and  there  has 
been  no  departure  from  it  in  its  religious  administration  till  now. 
There  has  been  no  concealment  to  curry  favor  with  men  in  any 
denomination  calling  themselves  more  liberal  in  their  doctrinal 
opinions.  The  pulpit  in  the  chapel  of  Amherst  College  has  al- 
ways spoken  the  same  language.  Though  there  have  been 
diversities  of  gifts,  it  has  been  the  same  spirit  in  all.  The 
trumpet  has  given  no  uncertain  or  jarring  sound.  Its  creed  is 
known  and  read  of  all  men.  The  preachers  have  seen  eye  to 
eye  and  taught  the  same  things.  There  has  been  no  shunning 
of  what  are  called  hard  doctrines,  when  they  came  in  the  way. 


30 

This  open  avowal  and  adherence  to  it  through  good  and  evil 
report  has,  I  am  satisfied,  l^een  one  of  the  main  sources  of  its 
prosperity.  It  has  given  it  confidence  in  all  the  orthodox 
churches,  and  earned  the  respect  of  those  who  differ  from  us. 
They  may  regard  us  as  righteous  over  much,  but  they  cannot 
help  thinking  the  better  of  us  for  honestly  avowing  and  teaching 
what  we  believe.  Again, 

Want  of  funds  in  the  earlier  years  of  its  history  has  been 
another  source  of  the  growth  and  success  of  Amherst  College. 
This  will  probably  seem  a  very  strange  remark  to  many.  They 
cannot  understand  how  the  pecuniary  necessities  which  com- 
pelled the  Trustees  again  and  again  to  appeal  to  the  public  for 
large  subscriptions  could  have  been  better  than  to  have  had 
ample  funds  from  other  sources.  And  certainly  it  is  no  desira- 
ble agency  to  go  here  and  there  begging  money,  even  for  the 
most  worthy  public  objects  ;  but  it  is  often  worth  more  in  dol- 
lars and  cents  than  a  full  treasury  to  begin  with.  It  enlfsts  the 
sympathies  of  hundreds  or  thousands  who  would  have  remained 
ignorant  of  the  benevolent  objects  of  the  institution  or  enterprise 
had  not  its  wants  and  claims  been  carried  to  their  doors. 

I  am  quite  sure  it  has  been  so  in  the  early  history  of  Am- 
herst College.  Much  as  those  who  opposed  us  before  the  in- 
vestigating committee  made  themselves  merry  over  our  long  list 
of  small  subscriptions  for  the  Charity  Fund,  down  to  twenty-five 
cents  and  under,  they  enlisted  a  thousand  prayers  for  its  suc- 
cess, which  for  want  of  information  would  not  have  been  offered 
and  which  I  nothing  doubt  have  brought  down  blessings  worth 
more  than  thousands  of  gold  and  silver. 

And  just  so  on  a  larger  scale  the  several  subscriptions  with- 
out which  the  College  could  not  have  been  sustained,  brought  it 
to  the  notice  and  enlisted  the  good  will  and  prayers  of  the 
friends  of  education  and  religion  both  in  and  out  of  the  state 
beyond  what  a  few  large  donations  from  a  few  could  have  done. 
It  was  the  most  effectual  way  to  make  its  objects  and  character 
known  to  the  greatest  number  who  have  power  with  God  and  to 
make  them  feel  that  by  their  contributions  they  have  a  pecuniary 


31 


interest  in  the  college.  That  through  this  very  agency  a  great 
many  students  have  been  and  will  be  induced  to  come  and  enjoy 
its  privileges  I  feel  sure.  Once  more, 

Though  it  was  hard  and  discouraging  again  and  again  to  be 
denied  a  Charter  in  which  we  stood  in  such  pressing  need,  it 
was  overruled  for  our  advantage.  It  was  a  new  institution. 
Something  was  necessary  to  make  it  known  to  the  public,  on 
whom  it  must  depend  for  students  and  support.  The  petitions, 
discussions  and  newspaper  articles  growing  out  of  the  delay  were 
just  what  was  wanted.  If  the  Charter  had  been  granted  and 
without  opposition  as  soon  as  asked  for,  poor  and  unknown  as 
the  Collegiate  Institution  was  it  would  have  been  hard  if  not 
impossible  to  get  the  means  of  turning  it  into  a  College  and 
building  it  up.  So  God  often  helps  those  hearts  he  makes  sick 
by  delay.  Again, 

When  we  were  almost  ready  to  despair  under  grave  charges 
of  misrepresentation  and  dishonesty  by  a  powerful  opposition  in 
the  lower  House  of  the  General  Court,  to  stave  off  the  question 
the  Committee  was  appointed  to  come  to  Amherst,  call  the 
Trustees  before  them,  demand  all  their  papers,  make  a  full  in- 
vestigation of  our  affairs,  and  report  at  the  next  session,  it  was  a 
new  source  of  anxiety  and  alarm.  Many  were  ready  to  say, 
All  these  things  are  against  us.  And  in  truth  we  were  but 
poorly  prepared  for  such  an  ordeal.  The  $15,000  bond  to  se- 
cure the  $50,000  charity  fund  must  be  cancelled  by  new  sub- 
scriptions, as  we  have  already  seen,  and  many  of  the  other  un- 
paid subscriptions  were  in  no  condition  to  be  relied  on  and  pre- 
sented to  the  Committee  as  everything  would  depend  upon  their 
report.  The  time  was  short.  The  $15,000  were  raised  to  can- 
cel the  bond  which  could  not  have  done  under  any  other  pres- 
sure. The  searching  inquisition  lasted  twelve  days  with  the  aid 
of  able  counsel  by  a  powerful  opposition.  In  their  Report,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  Committee  entirely  absolved  the  petitioners 
from  all  culpable  misrepresentations  and  charges,  recommended 
that  the  Charter  prayed  for  be  granted,  which  was  done,  and 
returned  home  and  we  returned  home  with  it  rejoicing. 

Now,  unkind  as  we  thought  the  sending  of  that  Committee 


32 

was,  and  unmistakably  intended  by  ouropposers  to  oppose  us,  it 
turned  out  to-be  just  what  was  wanted  to  set  the  character  of 
the  Institution  right  before  the  public,  and  to  better  its  pecuniary 
condition.  I  have  no  doubt  it  was  a  clear  gain  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  thousand  dollars  on  the  bond  and  subscriptions.  The 
appointment  of  the  Committee  compelled  us  to  bring  up  all 
arrearages,  which  otherwise  would  never  so  successfully  have 
been  done.  Thus  God  brought  light  out  of  darkness  and  set 
us  in  a  large  place. 

And  if  I  may  volunteer  a  word  for  our  friends  of  the  Berk- 
shire College,  though  they  did  not  succeed  in  defeating  us,  it 
compelled  them  to  follow  our  example  in  raising  funds,  and  in- 
stead of  being  crippled  by  our  success  it  gave  a  new  start  to 
Williams,  and  it  soon  grew  and  prospered  more  than  ever. 

[Note : —  In  the  early  pages  of  these  "  Sketches  "  refer- 
ence is  made  to  "  Webster's  Manuscript  Book."  It  is  very 
much  to  be  regretted  that  this  can  not  be  found.  No  refer- 
ence to  it  is  made  either  in  Professor  Tyler's  History  or  in 
Dr.  Field's  "  Brief  History  of  Amherst  College."— Ed. ~] 


Printed  November,  1905 


OF  THE 

UNJVERSITY 

OF 


NORTHAMPTON.    MASS. 


LD  21-100/W-7/33 


Hi 


25m-10,'15 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


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